This invention relates to an improvement in jib-furling carried out by rotation of apparatus spaced above the foredeck of a sailboat, and more particularly to winding a jib sail around its own luffrope and halyard and the forestay.
To furl or reef a jib sail by causing it to roll up around an apparatus in much the same manner as a window shade is not new. Common to most of the systems is an upper swivel near a masthead and a lower swivel, which usually includes a drum, near the deck at the bow of a sailboat. Generally the differences in present jib furling systems involve the kind of apparatus upon which the jib sail is wound. In one system the jib sail luffrope serves as the forestay also. The luffrope/forestay may be the usual 1 .times. 19 wire line or a solid length of metal. In any case, the jib sail cannot be changed without disconnecting the stay from the mast, a complicated operation which cannot be carried out while underway. In another furling system the upper and lower swivels are mounted to the mast and deck respectively somewhat aft of the forestay. The upper swivel is attached to the head of the jib and hoisted by means of the jib halyard with the jib tack pendant fixed to the lower swivel. In all except quite small sailboats it is almost impossible to get sufficient tension in the halyard to prevent serious loss of sail efficiency when close hauled. Still another system does not employ an upper swivel but uses spool sections rotatably mounted on a stay to support the tension of the jib sail luffrope and upon which the sail is furled. This system increases windage and jib sag when going to windward and is expensive. Another jib furling apparatus employs a stay having a C-shape and a third swivel means to prevent twisting of the halyard around the stay when the jib sail is furled. While each of the above arrangements can be used to furl a jib sail, each suffers from disadvantages which are overcome by the present invention. The several objects of the present invention include the ability to change jib sails while underway. Another object is to reduce jib sag and the resultant loss of sail efficiency when sailing close hauled. Other objects include the absence of complicated apparatus, the use of existing jib sails and of time tested upper and lower swivels. Still another object is the obtention of an efficient sail shape when the sail is partially furled. These and other features and objectives will become more apparent from the drawings and from the declarations which follow.